While Japanese whiskey distilleries are claiming top accolades for their finely crafted products these days, one decorated artisanal-minded Japanese master is bringing his craft to the heart of Bourbon country: Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban has been selected to oversee the planning and development of the "Kentucky Owl Park" experience in the Bluegrass State.
Global spirits enterprise Stoli Group, which had recently acquired the Kentucky Owl Bourbon brand, tasked Ban's firm to transform a 420-acre site at Cedar Creek Quarry into a must-see destination along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail—part tourist experience, part industrial facility complete with state-of-the-art distillery, bottling center, rickhouses for aging as well as office spaces for the corporation's American whiskey division.
"Shigeru Ban's vision for the site hearkens back to the 19th century with long-span steel structures that have been reinterpreted with the use of mass timber," explains the project description. "Each building will have a distinct structural form that incorporates visual elements of the local bourbon-making process. The existing quarry pits will be turned into beautiful lakes with crystal-clear, limestone-filtered water."
"This is an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves like never before," adds Dean Maltz, Managing Partner of Shigeru Ban Architects, "as these plans serve as our first Kentucky distillery and incorporate unique highlights and nods to the industry and its history, while prioritizing light and a connection to nature, features the architectural world has come to expect from our firm."
6 Comments
huh? wow!
Illuminati HQ for Cocaine Mitch
stretching the cardboard
nothing like the scent of spirits brewing when you drive through that area of the country...
Hasn't the three pyramid thingy been done already?
How did I miss this the first time around?!? Anyway, looks cool, too bad I'm boycotting all Kentucky bourbon until McConnell is dead <shrug>
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